2025 NBA Draft Thread, part 1 – Capture the Flagg

[Hal14]

Tankathon just updated and has a Hal draft for the Cs: Ian Jackson and Noah Penda.
https://tankathon.com/mock_draft

haha. I would like that very much.

2 really good prospects!

[165bows]

Tankathon just updated and has a Hal draft for the Cs: Ian Jackson and Noah Penda.
https://tankathon.com/mock_draft

Hadn't looked into Penda at all, he does seem like he fits the mold, kind of a bulky wing guy. Looks pretty strong for a 20 yo intl. Like a svelter Ron Harper Jr.

Jackson I don't see it, they never target SG only types outside of vet min/udfa FAs.

[djFan71]

Tankathon just updated and has a Hal draft for the Cs: Ian Jackson and Noah Penda.
https://tankathon.com/mock_draft

Hadn't looked into Penda at all, he does seem like he fits the mold, kind of a bulky wing guy. Looks pretty strong for a 20 yo intl. Like a svelter Ron Harper Jr.

Jackson I don't see it, they never target SG only types outside of vet min/udfa FAs.

I'm torn on Jackson for that reason. But, man, the scoring upside is tantalizing. Instead of dreaming of "if he learns to shoot", you go to "if he can learn to defend or playmake a little". I probably take a chance on him if he's there and the bigs I want and Byrd are all gone.

[165bows]

Tankathon just updated and has a Hal draft for the Cs: Ian Jackson and Noah Penda.
https://tankathon.com/mock_draft

Hadn't looked into Penda at all, he does seem like he fits the mold, kind of a bulky wing guy. Looks pretty strong for a 20 yo intl. Like a svelter Ron Harper Jr.

Jackson I don't see it, they never target SG only types outside of vet min/udfa FAs.

I'm torn on Jackson for that reason. But, man, the scoring upside is tantalizing. Instead of dreaming of "if he learns to shoot", you go to "if he can learn to defend or playmake a little". I probably take a chance on him if he's there and the bigs I want and Byrd are all gone.

Penda prob has a little glimmer of Torrey Craig actually.

[keevsnick1]

My #1 target for Boston last year was Kel'el Ware, although he went 15 so wasn't really an option. This year my new guy is Dany Wolf. I just want to see the C's find a possible long term stretch 5 option in preparation for Horford's retirement in the next year or two.

[Hal14]

Tankathon just updated and has a Hal draft for the Cs: Ian Jackson and Noah Penda.
https://tankathon.com/mock_draft

Hadn't looked into Penda at all, he does seem like he fits the mold, kind of a bulky wing guy. Looks pretty strong for a 20 yo intl. Like a svelter Ron Harper Jr.

Jackson I don't see it, they never target SG only types outside of vet min/udfa FAs.

I'm torn on Jackson for that reason. But, man, the scoring upside is tantalizing. Instead of dreaming of "if he learns to shoot", you go to "if he can learn to defend or playmake a little". I probably take a chance on him if he's there and the bigs I want and Byrd are all gone.

He already can defend and playmake a little imo, as I touch on here:

https://the-center-hub.com/2025/01/14/prospect-evaluation-ian-jackson/

I actually had him ranked as a top 5 or 6 prospect in this draft class a few weeks ago.

But it's weird - he went from a 6 game stretch where he was *on fire* to then these past 5 or so games where he's really struggled and hasn't really done much.

My take is that:

-He's probably not as good as the awesome 6 game stretch..and not as bad as this most recent 5 or so game stretch
-Ups and downs are common with freshmen
-It can be tough on a team that has a lot of mouths to feed and has 2 other high usage guards on the team (Davis, Cadeau)..plus Trimble so that's 3 other guards on the team who have the ball in their hands a lot, all have been with the team for awhile..Davis is an all-ACC player, has made more 3's than pretty much anyone in UNC history. Plus another 5 star freshman wing (Powell) so it can be tough for all of those guys (especially the 2 freshmen) to be able to consistently find a rhythm and produce

I get it..this type of player doesn't seem to be the type Brad goes after..especially after we didn't sign Lonnie Walker in the preseason and didn't sign him even after moving Springer..you never know. We didn't think Brad would use a 1st round pick last year but he did. He sometimes surprises us. And you never know, maybe Brad sees some upside in Jackson..and thinks he could possibly be like a CJ McCollum/Bradley Beal/Donovan Mitchell type or even a smaller Jaylen Brown type..I do think jackson could potentially (if he hits) average 18-20 PPG on good efficiency with decent defense and decent playmaking. Imagine a guy like that, alongside the Jays. You could play Jackson at the 2, JB at the 3, Tatum at the 4. White at the 1. Or perhaps Tatum is playing a point forward bringing the ball up like he often does with Jackson at the 2 and JB at the 3..possibly Jrue, White, hauser or Pritchard out there too, or go double big.

But having Jackson and the Jays on the floor together could be a nightmare for opposing teams to try and stop with 3 guys who can all shoot and take their man off the bounce. And kick to the open man if they draw 2. Plus you could rotate Tatum, Brown and jackson so you always have 1 or 2 of them on the floor at a time..we could (gasp) maybe even rest both jays at the same time for a bit and still have Jackson out there cooking.

[djFan71]

Hadn't looked into Penda at all, he does seem like he fits the mold, kind of a bulky wing guy. Looks pretty strong for a 20 yo intl. Like a svelter Ron Harper Jr.

Jackson I don't see it, they never target SG only types outside of vet min/udfa FAs.

I'm torn on Jackson for that reason. But, man, the scoring upside is tantalizing. Instead of dreaming of "if he learns to shoot", you go to "if he can learn to defend or playmake a little". I probably take a chance on him if he's there and the bigs I want and Byrd are all gone.

He already can defend and playmake a little imo, as I touch on here:

https://the-center-hub.com/2025/01/14/prospect-evaluation-ian-jackson/

I actually had him ranked as a top 5 or 6 prospect in this draft class a few weeks ago.

But it's weird - he went from a 6 game stretch where he was *on fire* to then these past 5 or so games where he's really struggled and hasn't really done much.

My take is that:

-He's probably not as good as the awesome 6 game stretch..and not as bad as this most recent 5 or so game stretch
-Ups and downs are common with freshmen
-It can be tough on a team that has a lot of mouths to feed and has 2 other high usage guards on the team (Davis, Cadeau)..plus Trimble so that's 3 other guards on the team who have the ball in their hands a lot, all have been with the team for awhile..Davis is an all-ACC player, has made more 3's than pretty much anyone in UNC history. Plus another 5 star freshman wing (Powell) so it can be tough for all of those guys (especially the 2 freshmen) to be able to consistently find a rhythm and produce

I get it..this type of player doesn't seem to be the type Brad goes after..especially after we didn't sign Lonnie Walker in the preseason and didn't sign him even after moving Springer..you never know. We didn't think Brad would use a 1st round pick last year but he did. He sometimes surprises us. And you never know, maybe Brad sees some upside in Jackson..and thinks he could possibly be like a CJ McCollum/Bradley Beal/Donovan Mitchell type or even a smaller Jaylen Brown type..I do think jackson could potentially (if he hits) average 18-20 PPG on good efficiency with decent defense and decent playmaking. Imagine a guy like that, alongside the Jays. You could play Jackson at the 2, JB at the 3, Tatum at the 4. White at the 1. Or perhaps Tatum is playing a point forward bringing the ball up like he often does with Jackson at the 2 and JB at the 3..possibly Jrue, White, hauser or Pritchard out there too, or go double big.

But having Jackson and the Jays on the floor together could be a nightmare for opposing teams to try and stop with 3 guys who can all shoot and take their man off the bounce. And kick to the open man if they draw 2. Plus you could rotate Tatum, Brown and jackson so you always have 1 or 2 of them on the floor at a time..we could (gasp) maybe even rest both jays at the same time for a bit and still have Jackson out there cooking.

Where do you have him on your board now?

Scoring is always a good ability to have. And, hope to develop the glimmers of the others skills.

[Hal14]

I'm torn on Jackson for that reason. But, man, the scoring upside is tantalizing. Instead of dreaming of "if he learns to shoot", you go to "if he can learn to defend or playmake a little". I probably take a chance on him if he's there and the bigs I want and Byrd are all gone.

He already can defend and playmake a little imo, as I touch on here:

https://the-center-hub.com/2025/01/14/prospect-evaluation-ian-jackson/

I actually had him ranked as a top 5 or 6 prospect in this draft class a few weeks ago.

But it's weird - he went from a 6 game stretch where he was *on fire* to then these past 5 or so games where he's really struggled and hasn't really done much.

My take is that:

-He's probably not as good as the awesome 6 game stretch..and not as bad as this most recent 5 or so game stretch
-Ups and downs are common with freshmen
-It can be tough on a team that has a lot of mouths to feed and has 2 other high usage guards on the team (Davis, Cadeau)..plus Trimble so that's 3 other guards on the team who have the ball in their hands a lot, all have been with the team for awhile..Davis is an all-ACC player, has made more 3's than pretty much anyone in UNC history. Plus another 5 star freshman wing (Powell) so it can be tough for all of those guys (especially the 2 freshmen) to be able to consistently find a rhythm and produce

I get it..this type of player doesn't seem to be the type Brad goes after..especially after we didn't sign Lonnie Walker in the preseason and didn't sign him even after moving Springer..you never know. We didn't think Brad would use a 1st round pick last year but he did. He sometimes surprises us. And you never know, maybe Brad sees some upside in Jackson..and thinks he could possibly be like a CJ McCollum/Bradley Beal/Donovan Mitchell type or even a smaller Jaylen Brown type..I do think jackson could potentially (if he hits) average 18-20 PPG on good efficiency with decent defense and decent playmaking. Imagine a guy like that, alongside the Jays. You could play Jackson at the 2, JB at the 3, Tatum at the 4. White at the 1. Or perhaps Tatum is playing a point forward bringing the ball up like he often does with Jackson at the 2 and JB at the 3..possibly Jrue, White, hauser or Pritchard out there too, or go double big.

But having Jackson and the Jays on the floor together could be a nightmare for opposing teams to try and stop with 3 guys who can all shoot and take their man off the bounce. And kick to the open man if they draw 2. Plus you could rotate Tatum, Brown and jackson so you always have 1 or 2 of them on the floor at a time..we could (gasp) maybe even rest both jays at the same time for a bit and still have Jackson out there cooking.

Where do you have him on your board now?

Scoring is always a good ability to have. And, hope to develop the glimmers of the others skills.

I still think Jackson is a 1st round pick.

But I had to move him out of the lottery.

So at this point he'd be 15-30 range on my board.

[playa-hater]

Actually never seen this mentioned, but what if Boston (which really mean Stevens) knows what player in Jrue KP or Brown (Kornet a well) he will *have to" trade. With the salaries for Boston, it may be a necessary evil. With that said, Boston's 2 draft picks may be at whatever position they lose out on. Even if we have some young stand bys ready to Go, and upgrade with a departure may be in order.

Just my speculation, but people have suggested Jrue and Kornet is a FA. So maybe a PG (hopefully a bigger one) and a center for sure. Al is old and Kornet may be gone. X is not the same.

We still have 3 wings who may be ready to go in Walsh BS and Peterson.

food for thought..

[Celts17Pride]

Actually never seen this mentioned, but what if Boston (which really mean Stevens) knows what player in Jrue KP or Brown (Kornet a well) he will *have to" trade. With the salaries for Boston, it may be a necessary evil. With that said, Boston's 2 draft picks may be at whatever position they lose out on. Even if we have some young stand bys ready to Go, and upgrade with a departure may be in order.

Just my speculation, but people have suggested Jrue and Kornet is a FA. So maybe a PG (hopefully a bigger one) and a center for sure. Al is old and Kornet may be gone. X is not the same.

We still have 3 wings who may be ready to go in Walsh BS and Peterson.

food for thought..

If the Celtics move Jrue Holiday they may have to attach first round picks just to move him.

[Hal14]

Actually never seen this mentioned, but what if Boston (which really mean Stevens) knows what player in Jrue KP or Brown (Kornet a well) he will *have to" trade. With the salaries for Boston, it may be a necessary evil. With that said, Boston's 2 draft picks may be at whatever position they lose out on. Even if we have some young stand bys ready to Go, and upgrade with a departure may be in order.

Just my speculation, but people have suggested Jrue and Kornet is a FA. So maybe a PG (hopefully a bigger one) and a center for sure. Al is old and Kornet may be gone. X is not the same.

We still have 3 wings who may be ready to go in Walsh BS and Peterson.

food for thought..

So we're assuming Jrue is getting traded, Kornet won't be resigned, we're assuming that al and Tillman won't contribute anything next year yet we're assuming Peterson will be on the team..and that him, walsh and Scheierman will all be ready for contributing roles?

Hmm, idk about all of this..

Anyone we draft will pretty much be a long shot to contribute in the short term. I think we have to keep expectations realistic here. The last time we had a rookie contribute anything meaningful was Pritchard 4 years ago. And that team (20-21 team) was not a contender..and was decimated by injuries to Kemba, Smart..didn't yet have White, Brogdon or Jrue..

The last time we even had a 2nd year player who got consistent rotation mins was Hauser 3 yrs ago..and he was like 25 yrs old then.

Especially considering we'll likely be picking 28th at the earliest (so the top prospects will likely be off the board by then) I think Brad just tries to take the best player he can, who he thinks will fit in with the way we play, will fit in with our culture, who he thinks could maybe possibly contribute a bit off the bench someday.

He shouldn't be making roster moves with the assumption that whoever we draft will contribute anything imo - especially not as a rookie.

[playa-hater]

Actually never seen this mentioned, but what if Boston (which really mean Stevens) knows what player in Jrue KP or Brown (Kornet a well) he will *have to" trade. With the salaries for Boston, it may be a necessary evil. With that said, Boston's 2 draft picks may be at whatever position they lose out on. Even if we have some young stand bys ready to Go, and upgrade with a departure may be in order.

Just my speculation, but people have suggested Jrue and Kornet is a FA. So maybe a PG (hopefully a bigger one) and a center for sure. Al is old and Kornet may be gone. X is not the same.

We still have 3 wings who may be ready to go in Walsh BS and Peterson.

food for thought..

So we're assuming Jrue is getting traded, Kornet won't be resigned, we're assuming that al and Tillman won't contribute anything next year yet for some reason we're assuming Peterson will be on the team..and that him, walsh and Scheierman will all be ready for contributing roles?

Hmm, idk about all of this..

Anyone we draft will pretty much be a long shot to contribute in the short term. I think we have to keep expectations realistic here. The last time we had a rookie contribute anything meaningful was Pritchard 4 years ago. And that team (20-21 team) was not a contender..and was decimated by injuries to Kemba, Smart..didn't yet have White, Brogdon or Jrue..

The last time we even had a 2nd year player who got consistent rotation mins was Hauser 3 yrs ago..and he was like 25 yrs old then.

Especially considering we'll likely be picking 28th at the earliest (so the top prospects will likely be off the board by then) I think Brad just tries to take the best player he can, who he thinks will fit in with the way we play, will fit in with our culture, who he thinks could maybe possibly contribute a bit off the bench someday.

He shouldn't be making roster moves with the assumption that whoever we draft will contribute anything imo - especially not as a rookie.

After reading your first sentence, I stopped reading.. I "assumed' nothing only brought up possibilities based on speculation from some. You have a continued habit to change the words or meanings. And what other posters say only to go on to your own draft rant.. It might be hard for you to swallow. But other posters can make good draft assessments as well.

[djFan71]

Actually never seen this mentioned, but what if Boston (which really mean Stevens) knows what player in Jrue KP or Brown (Kornet a well) he will *have to" trade. With the salaries for Boston, it may be a necessary evil. With that said, Boston's 2 draft picks may be at whatever position they lose out on. Even if we have some young stand bys ready to Go, and upgrade with a departure may be in order.

Just my speculation, but people have suggested Jrue and Kornet is a FA. So maybe a PG (hopefully a bigger one) and a center for sure. Al is old and Kornet may be gone. X is not the same.

We still have 3 wings who may be ready to go in Walsh BS and Peterson.

food for thought..

If the Celtics move Jrue Holiday they may have to attach first round picks just to move him.

These playoffs are pretty big, imo. He needs to show he's recovered from whatever the shoulder thing is and just be that all around Jrue big shots/winning plays guy. If he does, people forget the regular season and I think he still has positive value. Especially to up and coming wanna-be contenders. If he is just kinda neutral or worse and gets sat for Pritchard or AL in the clutch, he becomes something you have to pay to get rid of.

[redslastlaugh]

Sam Vecenie made a video mock and drafted for the C’s at 2:31:55

Watch on YouTube

Vecenie took Kam Jones SG from Marquette and said Celts are only interested in drafting a player that’s a shooter.

The strategy of only taking 3pt shooters that late in the draft would miss a lot of steals who were still on the board because of shooting questions: Tony Parker, Herbert Jones, Khris Middleton, Draymond, etc… so I would hope Brad would consider all aspects of talent/skill as well as shooting ability because 1. Guys can improve shooting with NBA coaching and 2. passing on a Giannis for a Kelly Olynyk because a Kelly-type fits a particular spacing scheme is a way to box yourself into making a mistake.

[brackdan70]

Ian Jackson seems like a very solid pick. Lotto Talent that drops a bit because of inconsistency.
Interesting to see JT Toppin dropping on a lot of mocks. He seems a legit NBA guy to me.

[redslastlaugh]

Ian Jackson seems like a very solid pick. Lotto Talent that drops a bit because of inconsistency.
Interesting to see JT Toppin dropping on a lot of mocks. He seems a legit NBA guy to me.

Agree on Toppin, mock drafts seem too low on him given the production, measurables and age.
Ian Jackson, I’m not as high on because of the passing deficiency, but I don’t hate him, but not in love with his game. Like the Syracuse game, he has 15FGA, 6FTA and zero assists … don’t love to see that

[phincsfan]

Ian Jackson seems like a very solid pick. Lotto Talent that drops a bit because of inconsistency.
Interesting to see JT Toppin dropping on a lot of mocks. He seems a legit NBA guy to me.

Agree on Toppin, mock drafts seem too low on him given the production, measurables and age.
Ian Jackson, I’m not as high on because of the passing deficiency, but I don’t hate him, but not in love with his game. Like the Syracuse game, he has 15FGA, 6FTA and zero assists … don’t love to see that

NC isn't very good this year and maybe being a freshman has him trying to do a little too much. Maybe reverting back to his NYC high school days. I coached way back in NYC and it's a very me me type mentality. He has a bunch of tools to develop which is a good thing.

[165bows]

Sam Vecenie made a video mock and drafted for the C’s at 2:31:55

Watch on YouTube

Vecenie took Kam Jones SG from Marquette and said Celts are only interested in drafting a player that’s a shooter.

The strategy of only taking 3pt shooters that late in the draft would miss a lot of steals who were still on the board because of shooting questions: Tony Parker, Herbert Jones, Khris Middleton, Draymond, etc… so I would hope Brad would consider all aspects of talent/skill as well as shooting ability because 1. Guys can improve shooting with NBA coaching and 2. passing on a Giannis for a Kelly Olynyk because a Kelly-type fits a particular spacing scheme is a way to box yourself into making a mistake.

I could see them taking Kam Jones - shooting is one thing but I could see them developing him into an on-ball role, similar to Jrue/DWhite where he could effectively play the 1 or the 2.

Actually is a pretty solid fit for what they tend to do with guys there.

Edit: good argument to be made statistically he's more PG than shooter, which I kinda like the gamble on the 6'4"+ guard that pass and control the ball and hope his shooting improves.

[djFan71]

Sam Vecenie made a video mock and drafted for the C’s at 2:31:55

Watch on YouTube

Vecenie took Kam Jones SG from Marquette and said Celts are only interested in drafting a player that’s a shooter.

The strategy of only taking 3pt shooters that late in the draft would miss a lot of steals who were still on the board because of shooting questions: Tony Parker, Herbert Jones, Khris Middleton, Draymond, etc… so I would hope Brad would consider all aspects of talent/skill as well as shooting ability because 1. Guys can improve shooting with NBA coaching and 2. passing on a Giannis for a Kelly Olynyk because a Kelly-type fits a particular spacing scheme is a way to box yourself into making a mistake.

I could see them taking Kam Jones - shooting is one thing but I could see them developing him into an on-ball role, similar to Jrue/DWhite where he could effectively play the 1 or the 2.

Actually is a pretty solid fit for what they tend to do with guys there.

Edit: good argument to be made statistically he's more PG than shooter, which I kinda like the gamble on the 6'4"+ guard that pass and control the ball and hope his shooting improves.

Agreed, Kam definitely fits our combo/pg mold where he can play off Tatum and/or do some creation on his own. D is the main thing you worry about. Don't think he's so much bad, as just not stand out good either. I'd probably go Byrd first over Kam, but either would be a nice pickup.

[redslastlaugh]

Couple things on Kam Jones
1. Measurements will be key, listed at 6-5, some say he’s not close to 6-5… so we’ll see on that
2. The shooting, he’s shooting 32% on threes this year and 68% from the line. He was better from 3 previous years but his career at Marquette is 68% from the line (154/226). How good a shooter is he if he’s under 70% from the line? I guess JB has had some elite shooting-from-midrange seasons and still shot under 70% from the stripe but that’s pretty rare. You’d like a 2guard to be >80% from the line.

I like Kam Jones, love the assists … but if he’s a <35% from 3 and <70% from FT and not elite defensively… how is he a plus NBA player?